Congress frowns on new Trump plan for tariffs on imports from Mexico

Posted: 7:25 pm Thursday, January 26th, 2017

By Jamie Dupree

There was no rush from lawmakers in either party in Congress to rally around a plan floated by the White House on Thursday, which would pay for the construction of a wall along the southern border with Mexico by levying a 20 percent tax on imports from that country, as members of both parties signaled their displeasure.

“This would be a tax on Americans to pay for the wall,” said Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), echoing assertions from economists who say the costs would just be passed along to consumers.

On the Democratic side of the aisle, Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) called the idea “disastrous.”

A 20% tariff against Mexico would be disastrous for consumers in both countries and would increase illegal immigration

The basic outline of the tariff plan was set out on Air Force One by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, after President Trump had spoken in Philadelphia to Republican lawmakers gathered for a GOP retreat.

“Right now our country’s policy is to tax exports and let imports flow freely in, which is ridiculous,” Spicer told reporters, arguing this would be a simple way to fund the border wall.

“It clearly provides the funding and does so in a way that the American taxpayer is wholly respected,” Spicer said.

But a few hours later, the White House was already backtracking, telling reporters the tariff was one of a number of options that was being considered.

By that point, it was publicly obvious the concept wasn’t going far with members of either party.